Ever After
by James Bryan
Summary: A primarily Rena/Claude fic, with some Dias/Celine and Precis/Ashton.
1. Chapter 1 - Will You?

Ever After - Chapter One: Will You?

**Ever After  
Chapter One : Will You?**

The night was quiet. The night was the night that Claude was going to ask Rena Lanford to marry him. Communications between Expel and Earth had begun, so Rena could visit her mother if she felt like it, and so Claude persuaded her to come live with him in Tokyo, the capital of the Earth. 

Rena had been out getting some groceries for dinner when Claude decided it was time. The door to the small, one bedroom apartment opened.

At first, Rena had been reluctant to live in such a small living space with only one bedroom. They had been living together for six months, and things had been going great. 

----

_Six Months Earlier_

It had been nearly a year after the fall of Indalecio and the destruction of Energy Nede. Claude had been living in Expel with Rena.

"Rena, I want to go back to Earth," Claude explained.  
"Claude..." Rena was speechless.  
"Rena, I think the soldiers in the Earth Federation have been looking for me since my father's death. I've been seeing strange lights in the sky that don't look natural. They know I'm here, so I might as well go with them."  
"But--" Rena was interrupted.  
"No buts, Rena. I want you to come with me. I may be able to persuade the Earth Federation to open communication with Expel, so if you want, you may come back here," Claude said.  
"Oh...Claude...I...I'll go with you," Rena agreed.

----

_Present_

"Tadaima [I'm home]!" Rena yelled as she put the groceries down on the table of the apartment.  
"Hello, Rena! I made some tea. I want to talk to you," Claude told her.  
"Oh, about what?" Rena asked.  
"Something..." he said with a sly grin as he gave her a cup of tea and sat down at the wet bar [in case anyone is wondering, if you enter the apartment, you come right into the kitchen, where the kitchen table is sitting next to the wet bar. Next to the kitchen is the living room, a bathroom by the living room and then the bedroom which is connected to both the bathroom and living room].  
"Oh? Go ahead..." Rena told Claude.  
"Okay, I'll be right back..." Claude said as he ran to the bedroom.

"Dammit," he muttered. Claude had hidden the ring and now couldn't remember where he had hidden it. "Aha!"

He ran back to the kitche, hiding the ring behind his back. He got down on one knee, and opened the box. Rena gasped.  
"Rena Lanford, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"_  
"Oh my God, did he just do what I think he did?" _Rena asked herself. "Ah...I...yes, I will marry you..."

Rena jumped off the high bar stool and landed in Claude's arms as he slipped the ring on her finger. "Rena...I love you."  
"I love you too, Claude."


	2. Chapter 2 - Preparations

Ever After Chapter Two: Preperations

**Ever After  
Chapter 2 : Preparations**

**Author's note: **Part of this chapter involves sexual refrences.

The alarm sounded. 7:15. Time to get up. But he was still tired. He wanted to lay there forever, his fianceé laying next to him. He hit the clock to make it shut up. Claude put his hand out, reaching for Rena on the other side of the bed, but she wasn't there.  
_"I wonder where she went,"_ he wondered. He got up to get a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch to watch some TV when he saw a note on the coffee table. 

_Claude,  
I trust you will get up on time. I went out early to go the airport. I called Precis and Ceine last night while you were in the shower, and they're coming to help me plan the rest of the wedding.   
Love you forever,  
Rena Kenni (I love the way that sounds!)_

Claude laughed mentally at her joke. "Soon that won't be a joke..." He drank his coffee, took of his clothes and got in the shower.

Rena was at the airport waiting for Precis and Celine to get off. "I wish the plane would hurry!" 

"Big Sister Rena!"  
"Darling!"

Precis and Celine ran up to Rena. "Congratulations!" Celine said as she hugged Rena.   
"Congratulations, Big Sister!" Precis applauded. "I have a feeling Ashton's gonna propose to me soon...oh, I wish he'd hurry up!"  
Rena noticed a big change in Precis' personality. She wasn't the hyperactive teenager that she had once known. Precis seemed much more calm and mature. Her hair was French braided and short. She was wearing a sun dress with a sunflower pattern, light yellow socks and white sandals. Celine, on the other hand, was still the same.

"Uh, Celine, can you change out of those clothes...just this once? Because while we're out today, people will start looking..." Rena asked.  
"Oh, Rena darling...I guess, just while I'm here. I won't need to cast any spells, will I?"   
"Um...no, there aren't that many evil wizards here. They shouldn't pose a threat," Rena said sarcastically.  
"Hmph!" Celine turned around and refused to look at Rena.

While at work, all Claude could think about was Rena. He had dozed a number of times, feeling he never got enough sleep. But of course, he does just fall asleep at work EVERY day...

"General Kenni!" someone shouted, waking up Claude.  
"Huh? What? Oh, it's you...what do you want?"  
"We have more papers for you to fill out," the worker explained, dropped off the papers and left.  
"Oh, all right. Is this all I'm going to do all day for the rest of my life, sit in a stuffy office and fill out papers? There's no space exploration to be done at the moment, and even if there was, I wouldn't go because of the wedding..." Claude asked himself and sighed.

"How about this one?" Celine asked Rena. The trio had arrived in the Kenni apartment. They had been looking at wedding dresses.  
"No, I want...crap! I don't know what I want..." Celine had pointed out a long dress that was cut off at the shoulders. It had a light pink sash that tied around the waist with part of it falling down in the front. It had a short slit, about calf-high and the woman displaying it was wearing beautiful shoes the color of the dress.  
"Oh, let's take a break. Let's talk about guys! I wanna know how your love lives are going..."  
"I'll go first!" Celine said. "Well, I'm...uh...kinda going out with Dias Flac...we've been living together for two months now."  
"Really? Cool! Where have you been living?" Rena asked Celine.  
"In Lacour. We decided on a big city. He's become a lot more open towards me than he ever was with anyone since...his family was slaughtered..."  
"That's good, Celine!" Rena said as she winked. "You go girl!"  
"Precis, what about you?" Rena asked.  
"Hold on darling, I'm gonna go get a soda." Celine walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Oh, just my luck, no diet! Oh well, I'll go to the store."  
"I'll go with you, Celine," Rena said.  
"No, Rena, you stay here and talk with Precis. I already know about her pr-"  
"Bye Celine!" Precis said, eager to get her out of the room. She walked up to Celine. "You let it slip, you die..."  
Precis smiled as she ran her finger across her throat.   
"Celine, there's a general store two blocks down," Rena explained.  
"There is? Thanks!" Celine said as she left the apartment.  
"Okay, Precis, what's the big secret? Are you getting married?" Rena asked.  
"Well...no...I'm...ah...kinda...sorta...pregnant...." Precis said. That was why she had changed so much.  
"Oh, my God, that's great! Who's the father?" Rena yelled happily as she hugged her 'little sister'.  
"Ashton. Ashton Anchors. But the thing is, he doesn't know...he's been wondering why I've been acting so 'weird' as he puts it lately..." Precis explained.  
"You should really tell him, Precis. He needs to he's going to be a father in less than 9 months. When did...you guys...you know..."  
"We live together, like you & Claude and Celine and Dias. We've done it before, but we always had protection...but I guess we had forgotten. It was the anniversary of our first date, nine weeks ago...I found out I was pregnant last week."  
"Oh...I see...I've never even SEEN Claude's manhood..."  
"Really? Ashton's is kinda small..." Precis told Rena, a childish tone in her voice after all the serious talk.  
"This is sad, I'm still a virgin and my little sister isn't! And I'm the one getting married!" Rena laughed.  
"You'd think that it would've been bigger, since he's 6 foot, but it's so SMALL!" Precis giggled. Rena smiled and hugged Precis.  
"Precis, as soon as you get back, tell him. He'd wanna know, and besides, I think he's probably beside himself with fear, and he probably expects that you are pregnant. Call me when you get back and tell me how it went."  
"Okay, I'll tell him. Thank you, Rena." They finished their conversation as soon as Celine walked in the door with a liter of diet coke and some paper cups. She also had orange, 7-Up [yours! Hehe ^^], grape, root beer, two boxes of Pocky [Japanese snack candy], chips and candy.   
"PARTY!!".


	3. Chatper 3 - Batchelor Party

Ever After Chapter 3 :

**Ever After   
Chapter 3 : Batchelor Party**

**Author's Note: **this chapter contains a little more vulgar langauge than usual.

For the wedding, Rena had decided on a plain white wedding dress with the shoulders cut off. She would wear gloves that reached to her elbows and pretty white shoes. Claude would be wearing a plain black-and-white tuxedo.

"Claude, where is your batchelor party? And who's coming?" Rena asked, two weeks before the wedding.  
"SHIT! I forgot about the batchelor party!" Claude yelled.  
"You did? I can't believe that..."  
"I'm going to invite Noel, Dias, Bowman and Ashton. I don't have any idea where I'm going to have it, though...would you mind helping me make phone calls and stuff?" Claude asked. He decided to go to a bar in down town Tokyo. Rena made the phone calls to Expel, and all the people attending the wedding would be coming in a week.  


_One Week Later, Tokyo International Airport_

"Oh, I'm so nervous!" Rena whined. Her mother was coming to the wedding. She hadn't seen her in nearly a year, and hadn't even talked to her until last week.

Finally the plane containing Celine, Dias, Ashton, Precis, Rena's mother (Westa), Celine's parents, Mars' Elder, Noel, Chisato, the Mayor of Arlia, Precis' dad, Bowman's wife, Bowman, plus a few others.

"Oh my God! Look at your belly, Precis! Hey everyone, would you excuse Precis and I for a sec?" Rena asked as she motioned for Precis to follow her. They went and sat down on a bench outside the Ladie's Restroom. "So, did you tell him?"  
"Yep." Precis replied.  
"What did he say?" Rena asked.  
"I'll tell you..." Precis said.

_One Month Ago (When Precis Got Back from Earth)_

"Ashton...I have something to tell you."   
"What is it, Precis?" Ashton asked.  
"You know when we had sex on our date anniversary?" Precis began.  
"Yes..." Ashton's voice had a tone in it that was like 'I know exactly what you are going to say...'  
"Well...it created a life...I'm pregnant. And I'm already starting to get a belly," Precis finished her explanation.  
Ashton freaked out. His face turned white and he just sat there. Precis put her head in Ashton's lap.   
"Don't worry. I'll be there for both of you."  
"Thanks, Ashton. I love you." Precis reached up and put a sharp kiss on Ashton's lip. "How do Precis Anchors sound to you?"  
They both laughed.

_Present_

"That's exactly what happened. I meant to call you, but I couldn't...we had too much preparation making a room for the baby. If it's a boy, we decided on Alexander Ashton, and if it's a girl, Nicole Alyssa."  
"Those are nice names. I wish Claude would quit being so distant...all he's ever done is kissed me. He's hardly ever even touched me! We've gotten a little frisky, but that's it..."  
"Haha...well, we better get back the group, we've been talking for like 10 minutes..." Precis said as she got up and walked back towards Ashton, grabbing his hand and laying her head down on his shoulder.

And so the days passed until the night before the wedding...the batchelor party...[hehehehehe]

Claude walked into the STRIP bar with his buddies, Dias, Ashton, Bowman and Noel.  
"All right, boys, drinks are all on me!" Claude said, a huge smile on his face. He ordered four beers. They all sat down at the bar.  
"Oh, I see, is this a batchelor party?" the bartender asked.  
"Yep!" Claude responded.  
"Which one of you lucky bastards are getting married?" he asked again.  
"Me," Claude replied.  
"Oh, I see, you'd better not let your woman be cold at night!" the bartender said with a smile on his face as he gave Claude a friendly punch on the arm. "Here are your beers."  
"I hope Precis is all right..." Ashton worried.  
"Oh, don't worry, she's fine, she's with Rena!" Claude said merrily. He couldn't believe this was his last night as a single man. The stripper walked up to him and sat in his lap, rubbing his manhood. "Knock that fuck off, lady..."  
That pissed the dancer off. She walked over to Bowman. "Hehehehe,"  
Bowman smiled slyly. She repeated what she did with Claude, only a little more vigoriously. "That's right, that's it...oh yeah..."  
"BOWMAN!!" Ashton yelled. "You are married!"   
The dancer flipped Ashton off. 

After about 6 beers each, and getting a little buzzed, the guys headed back to Claude's apartment.   
"I think I need some sleep. But can I talk with you, Dias?"  
"...I guess..." Dias replied. The other guys went for their hotel rooms.  
"Dias, I need you to be the best man. After all, you are the guy closest to Rena, other than me..." Claude explained.  
"Sure. I guess I can do that." They shook hands and headed seperate ways.


End file.
